A Timely Heirloom
by lifes2real
Summary: Tim receives a gift from his father with special powers
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : The toys that you recognize are not mine. I just took them out to play with them a bit. I promise to put them back when I'm done.

#*#*#*#

Tim hitched the bag on his shoulder as right hand slid into his pocket, fiddling with the watch within. As he realized what he was doing, he stilled his hand watching the door to the elevator open. Glancing at his teammates desks, he realized that, with the exception of Gibbs, he was the first person in.

Dropping his bag beneath his desk, he pulled the pocket watch from his pocket and glanced at the inscription on the back. _Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it. - da Vinc_i Opening the desk drawer, he rubbed his thumb across the inscription once before placing the watch within.

#*#*#*#

_Tim looked down at the pocket watch in his hand, "It what?"_

_"It turns back time."_

_Tearing his eyes away from the watch, Tim looked at the man sitting across from him, "Dad, its May 12. You missed April Fools Day by about 6 weeks."_

_Patrick McGee shook his head, "No joke."_

_Searching for something in his father's eyes, Tim didn't respond for a few moments. Finally, letting out a shaky breath, he dropped his eyes back to the silver trinket in his hand, "How does it work?"_

_"The how?" Patrick said with a shrug, "I don't know. I just know it does."_

_Turning the watch over in his hand, Tim's voice was level when he asked, "So you've used it?"_

_"Three times. That's all it works for any one person."_

#*#*#*#


	2. Chapter 2

When Tim returned to his desk from grabbing coffee he saw that Ziva had arrived, flipping through the paperwork she had stacked up the night before. When she noticed Tim settle at his own desk she gave a halfhearted 'Good Morning', never tearing her attention away from the folder in front of her.

Tim's own attention seemed focused on booting up his computer as he mumbled something back. Jotting down notes, first on a scrap of paper then transferring and continuing those notes once he was logged into his computer, Tim never noticed Tony arrive until he propped his hip on the edge of Tim's desk and craned his neck to read what was on Tim's screen.

Tim just looked up at Tony without trying to close anything on his computer screen. "Yeah, Tony? Can I help you?"

"What are you so bright eyed and McBushy-tailed about this morning? What are you working on?"

Giving a small shrug Tim answered, "A few ideas on one of the cold cases that I was looking through yesterday. It may not pan out but I thought that I would jot them down to be thorough."

Tony watched Tim's face for a moment before standing up with a sarcastic, "Fun," without giving the screen a second glance. "I'll just go through my stack of cold cases then."

"You do that," Gibbs said, coming around the corner. At Gibbs appearance Tony started shuffling through the files on his desk, leaving Tim alone to continue typing on his notes. A few hours later had Ziva, not so subtly, doing sodoku, Tony kicked back playing Tetris on his phone and Tim still typing on the computer, though the casual observer couldn't tell if what he was typing was work related or otherwise. When Gibbs' phone rang, they all sat up a little straighter, reaching for their bags before Gibbs had hung up the phone.

"Dead Petty Officer at Lake Accotink," Gibbs stated, grabbing his coffee before striding to the elevator. Before he was reaching for the button he had three agents standing behind him.

A half hour later had Tony and Ziva navigating the steep incline up to the body while Tim gathered what security footage there was, mainly from around the main gate and the boat house. After labeling and storing the security footage, Tim looked up to see Gibbs nodding to the arriving ME van. Nodding once, Tim crossed the parking lot to help Jimmy with the gurney as he directed Ducky and his assistant to the body.

After leaving Ducky and Palmer with the body, Tim helped Ziva and Tony collect every scrap of debris in a hundred foot radius. The moment they hit 495 Tony started complaining about missing lunch and the moment they crossed the Potomac into DC he started offering suggestions of places to stop and grab something to take back to the office.

For every suggestion that Tony made, either Tim or Ziva shot it down. Ziva wasn't in the mood for Chinese, Tim didn't want fast food, their normal deli had closed temporarily for renovations. Finally Tony snapped, "If I wait for you two to come to an agreement I'll starve to death. I'm senior field agent. I say we're going to Mama Rosetta's."

Calling ahead Tony placed an order, only having to wait a few minutes before they were back on their way to the office. Once back at the Navy Yard, Tony took the food up while Ziva and Tim brought the bagged evidence to Abby. Soon all three were typing at their desks, making phone calls for information and finishing off the last of their meals.

Tim was engrossed in searching financial data when a sound from Tony had him looking up. Ziva also looked up at the noise, the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear. Covering the mouthpiece she looked across the desks in concern, "Tony?"

Standing quickly, Tony hurried from his desk towards the bathroom. Ziva waved at Tim to go after him as she returned to her call. As Tim approached the bathroom he felt his own stomach roll as he heard the sounds of someone being sick from within. Giving Tony a moment, he waited until he heard the water running before entering.

"You okay?"

Tony stood over the sink, holding the edges as if they were the only thing propping him up. "Peachy," Tony said, glancing towards the door, however the next moments betrayed him as Tony rushed back to the stall and proceeded to throw up again. Tim grabbed a few paper towels and ran them under the tap before handing them over as Tony stood up straight.

A few minutes later Tony and Tim returned to their desks. When Ziva hung up the phone she just looked over at the two gentlemen. Tony was still looking a bit green and Tim was watching Tony with concern, but not seriously worried. Locking eyes with Tony, she waited, silently demanding an explanation.

"Shouldn't have gotten the clam sauce."

Ziva nodded once and smirked, "Should have gone for curry like I suggested."

When Tony made no reply, her gaze caught Tim's in worry. After a quick glance at Tony he opened an email and shot out a note to Ziva.

_Already suggested going to see Ducky. Says it's food poisoning and that as he threw up what he ate, he should be good. He wants Ducky to focus on the PO._

Ziva read through the note twice before looking over again at Tony. He still looked a little green but he seemed to be focused on his work. Giving a small nod to Tim, she returned to her calls.

#*#*#*#

_"What...?" Tim tightened his lips for a moment before continuing. "What days did you do over?"_

_"If I could only use it once, the first day would be more than worth it. Do you remember the story your mom always tells about the day you were born?"_

_"Yeah," Tim replied with a smile. "She loves that story. You fell down the stairs, twisted your knee. She was two weeks from her due date and couldn't get behind the wheel so she had to call a friend to drive the two of you to the emergency room. While you were waiting to be seen she went into labor and because you were also listed as a patient, you couldn't go up with her. After everything was done, you came hobbling in on crutches."_

_Tim's smile fell as he looked at his father. Patrick wore a smile, the same small smile that he always wore when his mother told the story, but for the first time Tim was questioning the shadow beneath it. Until that moment he always assumed that his father was upset about missing his birth, however now..._

_"What happened?"_

_"Your mother was nesting, buying furniture, nick-nacks, changing the decor. Before she was six months pregnant, Savannah had the kitchen re-wallpapered in this gold and green tile pattern to mach this ugly laminate on the floor. I think they called the color avocado, but the color closely matched that of mashed peas, but it was the style," he added with a shrug._

_"That day your mother wanted to go to a flea market about an hour down the interstate. We had gone the previous weekend and there was something that she wanted to go back and get. Once there she decided against it, some lawn furniture, I guess it was. Now that she was there though, she wanted to walk around. A few hours and an armful of trinkets later she was ready to go home." Patrick flashed a smile at his son, "I was relieved, I was still in the navy at that time and I was already dreading the next move. "_

_"We had just gotten on the highway when Savannah started complaining of pains. I didn't know the area, could only go by highway signs, and there were none advertising a hospital." Rubbing his hands briskly along his thighs, he stood and made his way to the kitchen. "She tried to keep herself from crying out, grabbing my hand when it wasn't needed for shifting, and I drove faster than I have before or since."_

_Pulling a glass from the cabinet he placed it on the counter before ignoring it, instead grabbing the edge of the counter. "Your mother was so brave, one arm around her stomach the other clutching mine. When we got to the hospital the emergency doctors helped her from the car. It..." Tim stared at the ridged line of his father back, the watch in his hand forgotten. "The front seat was covered in blood as was the bottom half of her dress. They took her in, told me where to park the car and all I could do was stare at the seat of the car."_

_Releasing the counter, Patrick grabbed the glass, his hands not quite steady as he filled it from the tap. "One of the nurses had stayed, guided me inside. I guess she parked my car as well, she gave me my keys a few minutes later. It was hours waiting, hours of well meaning nurses offering hope but no real information, hours before a doctor came out. Unlike the nurses he didn't offer hope."_

_"I didn't catch most of what he was trying to explain," Patrick said with a shake of his head. "Complications and that they were trying to save you both, but..." Tim looked at the clear green of his father's eyes, the shattered look for what could have been, what had been, and his breath caught in his throat. "They wanted me to choose. My wife or my child. Instead I asked a question. If we had gotten to the hospital sooner..?"_

_Patrick chuckled, though there was a brittle sound to his laugh, "The doctor didn't care for that. They don't do well with what might of been and I think he was afraid that I would blame myself if he said yes. Instead he gave me maybe, and I asked that he give me a moment."_

_"I walked a bit down the hallway and pulled out the watch. The watch was a gift from my mother, given to me by my father when I turned twenty, and from the time that your mother announced that she was pregnant I kept it with me always, though I had it on my person most days before that. I wasn't sure about what I was going to do, wasn't sure that I believed, but I had to try."_

_"I followed the directions my father gave me, winding it backwards three times, and found myself sitting on the sofa at home, Savannah's feet on my lap. She was reading Shakespeare aloud, and I was giving her a foot massage. It was the previous evening."_

_"I wanted to bundle her off to the hospital right then, but what could I say? Excuses tumbled through my mind, ways to change what would happen the next day. When we went to bed that night, I still didn't know what I was going to do. I had tried calling your Uncle Michael, but I later found out he was staying at Aunt Barbara's, of course I hadn't met Barb yet."_

_Tim gave a small smile before asking, "Did you fall on purpose? Fake the wrenched knee?"_

_"Nope," Patrick answered with a snort of a laugh. "That was me being clumsy. I was rushing down the stairs while your mother was getting ready to go to the flea market. I was panicking as I couldn't convince her with no evidence, no real reason, to not go. I wanted to try to phone Michael again and two steps down I tripped over my own feet. Your mother found me moments later sprawled at the bottom of the staircase."_

_Tim finally looked back at the watch, the reason for the current conversation, "So you never figured out what you were going to do? Never came up with a plan?"_

_Patrick shook his head, "No, never had a plan."_


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't long before Gibbs was turning the corner, barking for an update. Tim and Ziva bounded to their feet, feeding information to Gibbs about the Petty Officer and known associates. From his desk Tony added a few comments but his subdued demeanor had Gibbs arching an eyebrow in his direction, however one of Tony's comments regarding Petty Officer Lyons being a mentor had Tim turning to his keyboard and pulling up more information.

"Carson Judge, works at Flagstone Transit in Fairfax." A few clicks had the information on the big screen. "Minor scrapes with the law until he got pulled in by a joint gang task force between Fairfax and Arlington. That was five years ago when Lyons entered the picture. Since then he's clean, not even a ticket."

"If Judge knew our Petty Officer, then I want to talk to him." Without turning from the screen Gibbs barked, "David, McGee, try him at work. If he's not there wait at his apartment. Tony, see what Abby's got."

As Tony made his way to the back elevator without a comment on the assignment, his coworkers watched with worry. Before Ziva and Tim stepped onto the elevator, Gibbs called them back. "What's with Tony?"

Ziva shook her head. "He was sick earlier yet says he is fine now. It seems likely that it is a case of food poisoning as he says but he still does not look well."

"I'll send Ducky down." Gibbs saw some of the worry leave his agent's expressions. Pointedly looking at the elevator, Gibbs hid a smirk as they hurriedly turned away.

The ride down 395 was quiet as Ziva weaved through the pre-rush-hour traffic, each thinking their own thoughts. As they approached the industrial park where Flagstone Transit's main office was located, Tim read directions from his phone.

The small shipping office was small, overly bright and empty. Tim leaned over the counter to the doorway to the back room, shouting a loud hello.

Glancing around, Ziva hummed impatiently, "I believe that I will take a look around outside."

Trying to get a better look in the darkened doorway to the back without luck, Tim nodded. "They're not answering up here. They're probably at some loading dock in the rear. I'll come with you."

Ziva nodded as she strode out the door and around the side of the building, Tim close behind. As they approached the back of the building, arguing could be heard around the corner. Quickly glancing around the corner revealed nothing but crates. Ziva's hand hovered over her gun as she started to navigate the maze of boxes. Feeling Ziva's nerves, Tim went to pull his gun from it's holster when his cell phone went off.

_Bad boys, bad boys... Whatcha gonna do when they come for you_

Grabbing his phone to silence it, he looked up to Ziva's glare just before the sound of simi-automatic gunfire drowned out the sound of his ring tone. Feeling a burning pain in his upper right arm, he pulled out his own gun as he dropped to the ground, seeing Ziva do the same next to him. Inching her way down the crate, she gestured Tim to try moving around the other way. Tim nodded once and with a quick glance was able to see three men under the shadow of the loading dock.

Tim was about to identify himself when one of the guys yelled and started firing again, this time aimed to where Ziva should be. Return fire had two of the three men falling, however the third quickly dropped and grabbed the gun from his associate. Before the gun was raised, gunshots echoed.

Keeping his gun trained in the direction of the three injured/dead men, he made his way to Ziva. Laying in the pathway up to the loading dock, half of her blouse was sodden with blood. Mumbling, telling Ziva to hang on, he pulled off his jacket and pressed it to her upper abdomen, barely wincing when shrugging it off his right arm.

Pulling her cellphone from her pocket, as his was where he dropped it when they first opened fire, he dialed 911. Keeping pressure on her wounds, cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder, he relayed the situation and pleaded for them to hurry.

#*#*#*#

_"So Pop had it?"_

_Refilling his glass of water, Patrick made his way back to his seat, "Yeah, my father carried it for a little over ten years, but it never worked for him."_

_Tim leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, "He tried?"_

_"Yeah, he tried. First time was the night Michael was born, the night my mother died. He said he tried again another night, he never gave the details of which night or why, but it didn't work then either."_

_"Does he know why not?" Tim asked, intrigued._

_"He thinks that its because he wasn't blood. I talked to my Uncle Joe before he passed away. Joe went through his three uses before he gave it to my mother. He knew the rules but he didn't know that it wouldn't work for someone who wasn't blood related. He just knew that it was passed down to a relative."_

_"Did he say how our family got it?"_

_"He didn't have any details, just that some great-great relative received it as a gift."_

_"Did you ask what days he used it on?"_

_Patrick chuckled, "You mean like you're asking me? Yeah, but he wouldn't say. Did say that one of the days that my mother used it was for him, but didn't give any details. I figure it had to do with money, or lack thereof as Joe had a bit of a problem."_

_"What was the second day you used it?"_

_"You were sixteen and I was currently deployed. I was pulled into a meeting with my CO and he informed me that there had been a car crash the day before."_

_"My Camero?" Tim asked with surprise._

_"No," Patrick said with a shake of his head, "Not you, and not your Camero."_

_Searching his father's face, Tim waited while his father paused, taking small sips of water. A moment later Patrick continued, "I was told that your mother and your sister were going to the store and were hit by a truck. Both were dead before they made it to the hospital."_

_"And so you turned back the day."_

_"Yes, I turned back the day. I didn't know what, if anything that I could do from on a ship partway around the world, but I had to talk to Savannah one last time. Tell her that I love her."_

_"She told me how excited you were about getting into MIT and how scared. Said how you loved the Camero and I wished that I could have seen your reaction. You were upstairs working on some paper or project for school and your sister was out back with a friend. After about ten minutes she said she had to go, it was starting to rain and she promised cupcakes for Sarah's class later that week."_

_Patrick watched Tim's reaction and saw him start to put the pieces together. "I was already grieving, knowing that there was nothing I could do, that I had done nothing. When my CO pulled me in the next day I thought I was prepared for what he was going to say. Instead I didn't know what reaction was stronger, relief or guilt."_

_"They told you about my accident."_

_Watching Tim, Patrick continued, "They gave me even less information regarding your accident than the one that never happened. All they could tell me was that it was bad but you were alive."_

_"Mom and Sarah had started working on the cupcakes but they didn't have powdered sugar to make the icing. Mom called me down and asked me to run to the store."_

_Nodding once, Patrick continued, "It took a few days but they allowed me to come home. When I saw you in traction..."_

_"I saw you," Tim said slowly, "standing at the door. I didn't know yet that mom didn't even know that you were home. The meds that they had me on didn't allow me to stay awake long but it helped, knowing you were there."_

_"I had to see you before I saw your mother or your sister because if I saw them first all I would feel would have been relief. I had to acknowledge the responsibility first."_

_"You're not responsible for my accident."_

_"Responsibility looks different when you have two memories of the same day."_


	4. Chapter 4

It seemed to take forever for the paramedics to arrive and the moment they did Tim was again on the phone, this time to Gibbs, relaying the situation. When Gibbs arrived they had already transferred Ziva to the ambulance and left the scene. Gibbs found Tim sitting at the back of another ambulance, staring at the dark stain on the concrete, a paramedic wrapping a bandage around his right arm.

"McGee! Report."

Tim blinked a few times before focusing on Gibbs, "Boss?"

Gibbs saw the shock glazing Tim's green eyes but he needed information, "What happened?"

"My fault."

Gibbs waited for Tim to continue. When he didn't Gibbs kept his voice even but couldn't contain the roughness, "I didn't ask for blame, I asked what happened."

After Tim finished relaying what happened Gibbs looked at Tim in confusion, "Your phone went off and they just started shooting?" Just at that moment the sounds of Inner Circle's Bad Boys filled the air, causing Tim to wince. Gibbs picked up the phone from next to Tim to see the name Sarah M. flash across the screen. "You going to answer it?"

"Not right now," Tim said with a shake of his head. "They were arguing before my phone went off, I didn't hear what about. It may have made them already jumpy. We were going to get a bit closer when my phone rang."

The lack of information was frustrating. After a moment Gibbs nodded to the bandaged arm, "Go on to the hospital, get that arm looked at." When Tim opened his mouth to argue Gibbs continued, "Give me a call with Ziva's status. I'll secure the scene and meet you there." Tim's mouth closed and he nodded once.

When Tim got to the hospital he was taken directly back, he didn't get a chance to ask the intake nurse about Ziva. Brought to a small curtained room, Tim waited to be seen by either a doctor or a nurse. After ten minutes he moved from the bed to the hallway, searching for someone who didn't look overworked. It was only a minute before one of the nurses stopped.

"I need information regarding a co-worker. She was shot. Ziva David."

"I'm sorry sir," The nurse said, guiding him back to his assigned bed, "I don't have..."

"She's my partner. GSW to the upper abdomen. I need to know how she is."

Tim's eyes bore into the nurse's and she gave a small nod, "I'll see what I can find out. You need to stay here. The doctor will be with you in a moment."

When another nurse came in a moment later to take his vitals, Tim repeated his plea for information but it wasn't until the doctor came in that he got the update that he was requesting.

"She's in surgery but she was barely stable when the took her up. I'm sorry but it doesn't look good."

Tim closed his eyes, listened as the doctor requested an absorbable suture kit for the muscular tearing in his arm. Waiting for first the kit then the doctor to return to stitch him up, Tim's mind kept spinning over what had happened, what he could have done differently if given the chance.

It was hours after he arrived at the hospital before they allowed him to sign out. One of the nurses came in while Tim was waiting for his discharge papers and gave him an update regarding Ziva. When the nurse offered a pain killer for his arm, Tim declined. He had something that he needed to do.

Ignoring the beats of pain, timed to his heart beat, Tim made his way out of the emergency room, discharge papers in hand. The moment he was outside he approached an idling taxi. When the taxi driver tried to explain that he had been called for a specific person, one Helena Morris, Tim pulled out his badge and told him to order another taxi for Ms. Morris.

It didn't take long before Tim was pulling up to the Navy Yard. Making his way to his desk, he cringed when he heard Gibbs bark, "I thought I told you to go to the hospital."

Turning, Tim looked at Gibbs, "I went to the hospital. It's a bit hard to convince paramedics to take you anywhere else."

"You think this is a joke?" Gibbs asked, gesturing to Tim's arm.

"No," Tim said sadly, "but I have to take the chance that I can make it right." Turning his back on Gibbs, Tim opened his desk drawer and pulled out the pocket watch. Following his father's directions, he found himself at his typewriter, jazz music in the air.

#*#*#*#

_"And the third day?" Tim asked, a bit hesitantly._

_"Last year. That's one of the rules, or maybe it's just tradition that makes it one year between the last use and passing the device on."_

_"What are all the rules?"_

_"There's not many, in fact there's only four. You can only go back 24 hours at a time." Patrick ticked off a finger, "The 24 hour periods cannot overlap. Each person can only use the watch three times. The watch is passed on, through blood, at least one year after the third use."_

_Tim nodded, mentally tucking the rules away. "So what happened last year?"_

_"I received a call from Agent Gibbs. You and one of your teammates were caught in an explosion. You were already confirmed dead, your teammate was caught under rubble, pinned and not given very good odds from what Agent Gibbs had said."_

_"Do you know which teammate?" Tim asked quietly._

_Patrick shook his head, "No, and I didn't want to know. I had already made up my mind that I was going to use the watch. In fact I had feared, from the moment you became a field agent, that a situation like this one would be what I used my third use of the watch for."_

_"Feared?"_

_"Feared," Patrick repeated with a short nod. "A situation that I would have no control over, one where anything short of pleading for you to not do what you love, to not try to help others, to not be the son that I am proud of, could change the situation. However situations are more fluid than I realize, though by that time I should have realized it."_

_"The moment I got off the phone with Agent Gibbs I pulled out the watch. Much like the last time I had used it, I wasn't thinking of trying to change the situation as much as to get just a few more moments with you. I turned back the clock and called your mother at school to let her know I was going to visit you. She was surprised, begged me to wait until Friday when she could join me, but I knew I didn't have that long."_

_"I drove ten hours straight, finally stopping in Pennsylvania around 02:00. Found a motel, slept until about five, fueled up, gas and coffee, and made it to DC shortly before ten. I was punchy, tired, but drove straight to the Yard." Patrick grinned, "It was a surprise, I know, when I had the guard call up. I wasn't expecting you to take me up, to introduce me to your teammates, to Abby. Before we ever made it to the elevator I had achieved my goal in coming. I saw you, got the chance to give you a hug. I knew I would have the chance to say goodbye when you left for the field."_

_"While Agent DiNozzo was digging for information from your childhood and Agent David was being so very polite but taking in every drop of information that I was saying, Agent Gibbs got a call and sent Agent David and you to one location while he and Agent DiNozzo checked out another."_

_Remembering that day Tim stared past his clasped hands to the floor, listening to his father's point of view._

_"I gave you a final hug and when Agent David grabbed the keys from your hand, I told her to drive safe. Your Abby called down to Dr. Mallard and a quick invite later had the three of us going for an early lunch. We had just received our food when someone called Abby to tell her of the explosion. I listened to Abby's end of the conversation, her frantic demands for more information soon becoming calm, and I began to hope. When she relayed the information that you were fine my hands started to shake and I think that I worried Dr. Mallard a bit."_

_Tim looked up, "He didn't mention it, and he would if he thought it important enough." Tim gave a small smile, "Ziva drove slower that day, that was the difference. You asked her to drive carefully and she did," Tim shrugged, "Or as safe as she does. We were just stepping out of the car when the house exploded."_

_"I didn't know it would change anything," Patrick said. "I didn't know if it was a timed explosion or a trigger the you would set off, meaning you would be right on top of it again."_

_"Mom came out that weekend. Did she know?" Tim looked down at the watch in his hand, "Does she?"_

_"No," Patrick said with a shake of his head. "She's never known. What good would it be to break her heart for something that didn't happen? She knew that you were injured, minor cuts and scrapes and she could hear that I was upset, both before coming to see you and when she called to say that she would meet me out here. By the time she came out I had set most of it aside. It was a good weekend, a nice impromptu mini-vacation."_

_Tim smiled, remembering playing tourist with his parents as they dragged him through the museums. "It was a good weekend."_


	5. Chapter 5

When Tim returned to his desk from grabbing coffee he saw that Ziva had arrived, flipping through the paperwork she had stacked up the night before. When she noticed Tim settle at his own desk she gave a halfhearted 'Good Morning', never tearing her attention away from the folder in front of her.

Tim's own attention seemed focused on booting up his computer as he mumbled something back. Jotting down notes, first on a scrap of paper then transferring and continuing those notes once he was logged into his computer, Tim never noticed Tony arrive until he propped his hip on the edge of Tim's desk and craned his neck to read what was on Tim's screen.

Tim just looked up at Tony without trying to close anything on his computer screen. "Yeah, Tony? Can I help you?"

"What are you so bright eyed and McBushy-tailed about this morning? What are you working on?"

Giving a small shrug Tim answered, "A few ideas on one of the cases that I was looking through yesterday. It may not pan out but I thought that I would jot them down to be thorough."

Tony watched Tim's face for a moment before standing up with a sarcastic, "Fun," without giving the screen a second glance. "I'll just go through my stack of cold cases then."

"You do that," Gibbs said, coming around the corner. At Gibbs appearance Tony started shuffling through the files on his desk, leaving Tim alone to continue typing on his notes. A few hours later had Ziva, not so subtly, doing sodoku, Tony kicked back playing Tetris on his phone and Tim still typing on the computer, though the casual observer couldn't tell if what he was typing was work related or otherwise. When Gibbs' phone rang, they all sat up a little straighter, reaching for their bags before Gibbs had hung up the phone.

"Dead Petty Officer at Lake Accotink," Gibbs stated, grabbing his coffee before striding to the elevator. Before he was reaching for the button he had three agents standing behind him.

A half hour later had Tony and Ziva navigating the steep incline up to the body while Tim gathered what security footage there was, mainly from around the main gate and the boat house. After labeling and storing the security footage, Tim looked up to see the ME van arrive. Opening the back door to the van before Jimmy and Ducky had finished getting out of the van, Tim helped Jimmy with the gurney as he directed Ducky and his assistant to the body.

While helping Tony and Ziva collect evidence Tim turned every scrap of debris over in his hand, hoping it would tell him something. Feeling discouraged Tim carried the box of evidence to the van and climbed in after Ziva. The moment they hit 495 Tony started complaining about missing lunch and as soon as they crossed the Potomac into DC he started offering suggestions of places to stop and grab something to take back to the office.

Tim mostly ignored the suggestions that Tony and Ziva were throwing out until Ziva mentioned curry. "It's been a while since we've had curry. Sounds good."

Tony made a small face, he preferred pasta over rice, however there was a good curry restaurant on the way. Calling ahead Tony placed an order, only having to wait a few minutes before they were back on their way to the office. Once at the Navy Yard, Tony took the food up while Ziva and Tim brought the bagged evidence to Abby. Soon all three were typing at their desks, making phone calls for information and finishing off the last of their meals

Tim was engrossed in his own search when a sound from Tony had him looking up. With a grin of satisfaction, Tony hit a few buttons, moving information to the big screen just as Gibbs walked around the corner.

"What do we have?"

"Seems our Petty Officer Lyons was working with a community outreach program. Was paired up with Carson Judge. Minor scrapes with the law until he got pulled in by a joint gang task force between Fairfax and Arlington. That was five years ago and when he was paired up with Lyons. Since then he's been clean, not even a ticket."

"If Judge knew Lyons then I want to talk to him." Without turning from the screen Gibbs barked, "David, DiNozzo, try him at work. If he's not there try his apartment. McGee, I want you to look deeper at Lyons and Judge. See if they crossed paths before the outreach program."

Tim looked at Gibbs with panic, he had stood when Gibbs said Ziva's name but when Gibbs paired her with Tony his eyes had gone wide. "B-but B-Boss...?"

Both Tony and Ziva turned to Tim quizically. It had been a while since Tim had last stuttered. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at Tim, "You have something to add, McGee?"

Tim's eyes moved slowly from Gibbs to the rest of his team. After a long moment he looked at Tony, "Do me a favor and set your phone to vibrate."

Looking at Tim as if he were crazy, Tony glanced at Gibbs. Gibbs also looked at Tim for a moment before turning to Tony and nodding. Making a show of opening his phone and setting it on vibrate Tony followed the request. Ziva and Tony continued to look at Tim until receiving a pointed look at the elevator.

Turning back to Tim he felt the need to ask, "What was that about?"

Tearing his eyes away from the elevator, Tim looked at Gibbs, "Gut feeling." His own gut screaming that there was something more, Gibbs watched Tim sit down and start the searches that he requested. Barely twenty minutes later Tim was hitting the speed dial to Tony.

"Hey? Trying to give me cheap thrills?"

"Funny, listen. While Carson Judge has been clean for the last few years, it looks as though his brother has been getting into increasingly worse trouble. The most resent activity shows suspicion of blackmarket guns to local gangs."

Tony's frustration seeped over the phone line,"Okay, so we have another reason to bring in Judge. What's the problem?"

"The problem," Tim said slowly, "is that Zachary works as a free-lance truck driver, and most recently he's been signing on for runs under Flagstone. It's suspected he's using real runs as cover to move a crate or two of weapons every few runs."

"Any information as to what leg of his run he's on?" Tony asked.

Tim hesitated before answering, "No." Tim had scoured all the information he could find, as fast as he could find it, trying to get enough to send in a better armed team. "There's no pattern to his runs, he could be there right now or half way across the country. We don't have a enough for a warrant to trace his GPS."

Scanning the file on Zachary Judge Tim added, "But he always comes back here. This is his base of operations, where he's distributing the weapons."

"So expect a highly armed suspect when going to talk to witness." Tony's smirk could be heard over the phone, "Gotcha, just like any other..umph..."

"Tony?" Tim looked at phone, verifying that it was still connected, "Tony?"

"Just Ziva's parking job, McWorry-Wart. Thanks for the info."

Tim stared at the phone, the bold 'call ended' blinking across the screen. Setting the phone down, Tim turned back to his computer to see what other information he could find on Zachary Judge's and acquaintances. He had only been working for a few moments when his phone rang.

_Bad boys, bad boys... Whatcha gonna do when they come for you_

Glancing at his phone, he saw his sister's name on the screen. Trying to settle his nerves, he slowly let out a breath before answering, "Hey Sarah."

"Hey, do you like your new ring tone?"

Rolling his eyes, he realized that she must of changed it the day before when he took her grocery shopping as she was complaining that she was out of food and money. "Not particularly."

"I thought it was appropriate."

The mix of anger and affection that rolled through him was familiar, the joy of having a sibling, "I appreciate the thought but it's not really my style. I'll stick to the basic ring."

"Did you ever think that you needed a different style?"

"Good-bye Sarah." Ending the phone call, Tim shook his head. One mystery solved. However if Sarah's call was the time everything started yesterday...

Tim held the phone in his hand, torn between wanting to call Tony and get an update and not distracting him and Ziva if there was an issue.

He was still sitting, staring at his phone when Gibbs walked up. "Problem?" he asked with a nod to the phone.

Tim shook his head, "No, just talked to my sister."

"Grab your gear. We're going to meet Tony and Ziva at the hospital."

Pulling his gun from his drawer, he followed Gibbs to the elevator. "What happened?" Tim demanded with images of blood spreading across concrete flashing through his brain.

"Tony's been hit. Ziva's watching over Zachary Judge while the doctors patch him up."

While Gibbs got off the elevator, Tim just stood there. When Gibbs turned to see what the problems was Tim slowly repeated, "Tony's been hit."

Throwing his hand up to stop the elevator doors from closing Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, graze, left thigh. He'll be on desk duty for a few weeks, God help us." When that statement didn't get Tim moving Gibbs removed his hand with a gruff, "You coming?"

Turning towards the car, Gibbs heard the elevator doors open and Tim's quick shuffle to catch up.

While waiting for Tony and Zachary at the hospital, Tim found a John Doe that matched the description of Carson Judge. When Gibbs confronted Zachary with both Carson and Lyons death he admitted to both, Carson had found out about using Flagstone Transit to do his runs and Lyons was asking about Carson.

Tim and Ziva stood on the other side of the glass, watching Gibbs interrogate Zachary Judge. Tim looked at the bandage and sling that matched the one he remembered on himself. After shooting one of his associates due to a disagreement of purchase price, Tony had announced his presence. When Zachary failed to put down his weapon, Ziva made it difficult to hold and aim it.

As soon as he admitted to killing Lyons, Tim quietly left the room, returning to his desk. Pulling up the list of notes from that morning he made note of all the differences between the the days and tried to find if there was a single event that changed the outcome. Comparing the two lists Tim tried to figure out what he should have done, because as things turned out, nothing went as he had planned.

When he found himself reading over the list for a third time he closed it and deleted it. In the end it wasn't what happened yesterday but what happened today that mattered. Opening his desk drawer, Tim pulled out the watch to look at the inscription once more.

_Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it. - da Vinci_

"I guess it does," Tim murmured before tucking the watch back into his desk.


End file.
